William webster watts



(No Model.)

` W. W. WATTS. y DEVICE FOR HOLDING BOOTS 0R SHOES.

Patented Nov.

Nl PEYERS. Phclo-umngner. Washington. D. C.

AUNITinD STATES PATENT Ormea' WILLIAM VEBSTER WATTS, OF LITTLETON HOUSE, ATHLONE, COUNTY OF ROSCOMMON, IRELAND.

DEVICE FOR HOLDING BOOTS OR'sHOEs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,023, dated November 29, 1887.

Application tiled August 25, i887. Serial No. 247,827. (No model.) Patented in England August 3l. 186,No'11,056.

To aZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WEBSTER WATTS, of Littleton House, Athlone, county of Roscommon, Ireland, gentleman, a citizen 5 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have invented certain new and useful Apparatus for Shaping, Stretching, or Hold ing Boots or Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact i description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention affords convenient means whereby boots or shoes may be held in such 1 5 a position as will tend to restore them to a neat and agreeable appearance when distorted or otherwise misshapen by the effects of wear.

My device may also be used for holding boots or shoes while being cleaned, polished, or dressed, and also for hanging them up when not in use. It may be used with advantage for drying boots or shoes, as it enables their insides to be exposed to the'action of the air, and at the same time keeping them in shape.

The invention consists of a sole-plate composed of wood or other suitable material, provided at one end with claws or hooks and at the other end with an operating-clamp so arranged that a boot or shoe placed on the soleplate can be grasped and held firmly in a strained condition and brought into shape, or held in a convenient manner for the purpose of cleaning, polishing, or drying.

In what I esteem the most complete form of the invention, the device is in duplicate, having clamping means for attaching one boot or shoe on the upper face of the base-piece and another set of clamping means adapted for attaching a boot or shoe on the lower side thereof. Either set can be used, or both can be used at once, as convenience may dictate.

The accompanying drawings form a part of thisspecifcation. Figurelisasideviewshowing ,two boots attached, and Fig. 2 a plan view of one form of the apparatus or device alone. Fig. 3 showsa side View of a modification intended for attachment to a table or shelf, and Figs. 4 and 5 are details detached. Fig. 4 is a side View of a part of a modification, and 5o Fig. 5 a plan of the same.

tudinal screw c.

Similar' letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they occur. y

A is the sole-plate, which in Figs. I and 2 is of wood and in Fig. 3 of metal. At the toe 55 end are shown claws 1, 2, and 3, .all of which are hinged on one transverse pin and fall into a recess. These several claws are arranged to thus apply one within the other, so as to be flush with the surface of the sole-plate when 6: out of use. Any number of these claws may be used; but it is considered that three of dit! ferent lengths will suffice for all practical purposes. One or other of these claws can be used according to the size of boot or shoe to be dealt with, or rather to the varying heights of the toe portion.

In the drawings, claw 2 is raised and clutches the sole of the boot B at the toe end, while the heel B, on being pressed down, is caught by thegrasping device. (Shown in Figs. l and 2 as a spur, b, and in Fig. 3 as a lever arrangement, hereinafter more fully described.) The spursin Fig. lare operated bya screw, c,which works in the slot a, being turned by the ring d.

It is obvious that other means of grasping the heel may be substituted for the spur-such as a clamp operated by the screw cwhereby the heel might be gripped instead of penetrated.

In Fig. l the sole plate is provided with a 8O transverse hinge or joint, m, near the center, so that it can be readily folded and carried in a toilet or traveling case.

The end of the apparatus to the right in Figs. 1 and 2 serves as a convenient handle to 85 hold while cleaning or polishing the boot or shoe, and also for hanging on a hook or rack for drying or such like purposes.

It is obvious that the form of apparatus as described in Figs. 1 and 2 can hold a pair of 9o boots or shoes at the same time, having a set of claws on the under surface of the sole-plate, and having a two-way spur on the longi One boot may be attached to the upper surface of the sole-plate, while its fellow can be attached to the under surface.

Fig. 3 illustrates an apparatus for attachment to a shelf or table, and shows a different arrangement for grasping the heel to that above described. In this a bar, stay, or rod,f, pro- IOO vided with a long slot, is hinged to the heel end of the soleplate. In this slot slides the curved leverg, being held in position by means of the thumb-screw g. To this curved lever g is pivoted a link, 11 carrying on its free end a concave piece, z', the surface of which is roughened to grip the heel. The hand-lever g,with its accompanying link 7L, is capable of movement along the sole-plate, according to the length of boot or shoe, and when the grip has been tightened in any position the thumbscrewg isset, and the hand-leverg and the link hare held firmly pressed into the front and against the back of the heel, respectively. This plan is especially useful when dealing with thin-soled boots or shoes, or with ladies7 high-heeled boots or shoes, as it obviatesl the danger of the sole being forced or bent upward by the pressure of the grasping device when acting on the back only ofthe heel.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a modified form ofdevice, which may he used at the toe end of the sole plate instead of the claws above described. This device consists simply of an anglepiece of metal, k, swinging on a transverse pin, the two arms of which form two claws of different lengths, either of which may be used, aerordin g to requirements.

Having now partielllarly described the na turc of my said invention, I would have it un derstood that I do not confine myself to the exact details as herein described and illustrated, as my object can be accomplished by modifications in the details without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of my invention.

What I claim is- 1. In a device for stretching, cleaning, or polishing boots orshoes, the combination of the sole-plate A, a'hinged claw or series of claws, l 2 3, at one end, and a grasping device, 6, and means, as the screw c d, for operating the latter, arranged to serve as herein set forth.

2. The sole-plate A, in combination with the set of holding devices l 2 3, adapted to engage the toe of a boot, and suitable means, as the screw @and spur b, for engaging a boot or shoe, and the hinge m, allowing the sole-plate to be foldcdintoasmall compass when not in use, as herein specified.

3. The double clamp described, having the sole plate A and two sets of clamping means, b b, adapted to serve singly or together, substantially as herein specified.

Dated this 7th day of June, 1887.

Witnessesf J. ANGELO FAHIE,

O'. il., l() Leinster Street, Dubln. J. G. DOUGLAS, .Dra/feinen., 2 Onlaro Terrace, Rai/unions,

Dublin. 

